Vice
by iheartfullmetal
Summary: In 1912 Amestris, Ed has already established himself as the prodigious Fullmetal Alchemist. However, such fame can bring along unwanted attention. When Ed gets injured and put out of commission, how will he fare with having to put their search for the Philosopher's Stone on the back-burner? And why exactly is someone on the hunt for him?


A/N: Okay so I get it that the last time I was active was like 2013, but I more or less wanted this account to die along with my cringy pre-teen self. But I'm an adult now and can appreciate the old me...

Nonetheless, this is a fic I worked on for a bit and my beta begged and berated me to post it to see if people would like it to see if the idea was worth pursuing. If you want to see more feel free to leave a review. Thank you!

Do people still do disclaimers?

* * *

"You fucked up."

"Thanks for your astute diagnosis. Tell me again where you got your doctorate?" Ed's reply was laced thick with sarcasm. He raised his left arm to pinch the bridge of his nose out of annoyance, as well as to fight off the headache he seemed to always have in hospitals. The lights were too bright, the machines too loud, and the smell too sterile. It made him sick.

"You look like shit," Roy replied, decidedly ignoring Ed's own annoyed remark. He was right however, Ed did look like absolute shit. He looked exhausted, dark bags under his eyes made Roy want to order him to bed rest, albeit never would have worked. His right arm was missing a good portion of its plating and wasn't much more than the main stem and copious amounts of wires sticking out at odd angles. Many of which were disconnected. It sat in a sling with a brace that kept it close to his torso to immobilize it. A dark bruise of blue and purple peeked through the collar of his hospital shirt. The edges were yellowing as it healed, but it was still rather nasty looking.

Ed didn't respond verbally at first, instead he just glared at Roy over his left hand still poised at his nose. He let his hand drag down the rest of his face and fall onto his lap. He was silent until it was obvious that Roy wasn't going to speak without prompt. Ed sighed out of pure annoyance before speaking. "What do you want?"

"Where's Al?" The question caught Ed off guard and he looked away, seemingly embarrassed and annoyed. Roy had waited for Ed to respond just to change the subject on him.

"He went to call Winry."

"Your automail mechanic." His words weren't a question, but Ed nodded his head like he had been asked one. "I'm giving you sick leave. Go back to Resembool and get yourself fixed up, you're useless without your arm."

"That sure is rich coming from you." Ed had the urge to cross his arms, but with the brace there was no way he could do it without causing himself pain.

"And one more thing," Roy said, completely ignoring the jab at him, it was hard to get as irritated when the kid looked as miserable as he did. Roy was reminded that Ed was just a kid, dressed in the hospital's clothes with his legs crossed as he sat on the bed, "I need a statement from you."

Ed's eyebrows screwed up in confusion. "Why do you need a statement? From me?"

"Attacking a State Alchemist is a serious crime."

"The guy didn't even touch me." Ed could guess where this conversation was going, and he didn't like it.

"Really? Because you're pretty beat up for not getting touched."

Ed's face turned a bright red from a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance at having to explain how he ended up in the hospital. "I fell off a roof," his speech was muttered and barely audible.

Roy had remained rather stoic during the conversation until Ed told him that. A small smile formed on his lips as a chuckle broke free. He covered his mouth, but it was still obvious that he found the thought that Ed's injuries had not been caused by an attacker, but rather by gravity, pretty amusing.

Ed however did not find it amusing at all. He threw a glare at Roy, which Roy pointedly ignored in favor of trying to not-so-subtly hide his laughter.

"Shut up and get out," Ed growled, not taking kindly to being made fun of, "you'll get a statement with my report."

"Will I?" Roy's laughter died down immediately and the air grew a bit more serious. "Because I have a feeling I won't be able to read it, if I even get one in the first place."

Ed didn't respond, but he didn't look away from Roy. Instead he steeled himself against the Colonel, he knew that Roy had caught on.

"Why did you confront Meino?"

"It's what I do."

"No, what you do is look for a way to get you and your brothers bodies back and do a few favors for me along the way. I send you on leads, but I have never heard the name Meino Booker until someone identified him as the attacker. So tell me why you faced off with him."

Ed didn't say anything. He just stared at Roy with an intensity that screamed that he did not want to talk about it. Roy, however, didn't back down. He knew something was wrong, there would be no reason to go after Meino, he didn't have a criminal past and there were no charges against him prior to him attacking Ed. Even Ed didn't want to talk about why they had fought. It could have been random violence against a State Alchemist- which could very well be the motive- but Roy had a feeling that it was something more.

"Well he's on the run now. A few lower ranking officers are on the case to find his whereabouts. You're getting sent off to Resembool with a broken collarbone and won't be able to do anything to intercept him before they catch him. And neither will I if I don't know why he needs to be caught. So tell me how you ended up falling off a roof fighting a man I've never heard about without Al anywhere in the vicinity," Ed still didn't respond, but Roy wasn't going to back down. "Tell me what happened so I can fix it. You won't be able solve this yourself."

Ed stayed silent for a few more long moments before sighing with the realization that he'd need to tell Roy. "He knew."

"He knew? Knew what?" Roy could already guess what Meino knew.

"He knew about my arm and leg, about Al's body, about how we got this way." The words seemed hard for Ed to say.

The air seemed to immediately grow tense. Roy stiffened up, but besides his own tension and a slight glare he didn't show much of a reaction. "Tell me what happened," he repeated, his tension even more obvious in his voice.

Ed sighed again, but it didn't sound as annoyed as before. Rather it sounded more resigned; exhausted even. After a long pause he opened his mouth to tell Roy what had happened.

 _Ed and Al were staying in Irsukya, a small town just north of East City following the railroads. They were waiting out the night to before heading out to Giribaz early the next morning, they had to walk as there were no rails to the small town situated near a limestone quarry. They hoped they could hitch a ride with of the trucks transporting limestone to the nearest rail, but decided it was best not to rely on the chance that one would pass by. The walk was a little over twenty kilometers, something that they were more than used to, and they couldn't waste time by waiting around for an easier way to get there._

 _There had been rumors of a man who had healed the crushed leg of one of the quarry workers instantly, and while the rumor was passed mostly by word of mouth, a lead was a lead. They had been having a bit of a dry spell for the last few weeks and it was making Ed antsy. Al acted unphased, but the lack of leads affected him too. So far they had been searching for a way to return their bodies for over a year with no such luck and it was grating on their nerves. Even if they would never admit it to anyone, each other included._

 _Ed had paid for an inn for the night and had left in search of a restaurant at the insistence of Al. The inn didn't have any form of room service or restaurant on sight and Ed hadn't eaten since their train ride to Irsukya. Al decided it would be best if he stayed in the room and read some of the books they had taken out of the library earlier that day since they'd have to return them early the next morning before they left. It had become somewhat of a rule that they would raid the library of any new town in hopes of finding a hidden gem. They knew not to underestimate the brilliance of small town alchemists and if there was even one as smart as Hohenheim, then maybe they could get the answers they were looking for. Ed would never admit that that was the reason they searched for alchemic texts in every small town; despite the fact that Ed hated him, there was no denying that their father was a brilliant alchemist._

 _Ed had begrudgingly agreed, knowing that it would be for the best. They had gotten a lot of strange looks when they got off the train with Al being a seven foot tall suit of armor, it wouldn't do them any good to have him going around town to restaurants only to not eat. Ed felt a pang of guilt at having to hide his brother, but he knew that Al didn't like the stares either and no matter how ostentatious Ed dressed Al would still garner all the attention._

 _He found a small restaurant a few blocks away from the inn where he decided on a meat and potato pie. He felt awkward sitting alone as he waited for his meal to arrive, but luckily it wasn't too busy. There were only a few other patrons spread around at different tables. He found himself messing with the flatware out of pure boredom. The flatware was made of nickel silver: sixty percent copper, twenty percent nickel, twenty percent zinc give or take. No silver whatsoever, but it looked the part. He could easily make a few counterfeit silver cenz with it, but outside of that it was useless. And the fake could be easily caught. Nonetheless he broke it down chemically in his mind and mentally went through a series of transmutations. He never actually transmuted the flatware, he had no reason to, but his meat and potato pie was taking a while and he was bored._

" _Do you want some coffee?" A voice pulled Ed from his thoughts and he looked up to see a young man with short brown hair and some stubble. He had nearly unsettling steel blue eyes and looked like he had just come from outside. He was wearing an overcoat, carrying a suitcase, and looked a little wind blown. Ed wondered why considering it hadn't been too windy outside._

" _Do you work here?" Ed replied with no tact._

" _No, but you look like you could use a cup." The man placed a hundred cenz coin on the table and sat down in the seat across from Ed unprompted. Ed just raised an eyebrow at the man. He raised his hand to get the attention of a waiter and when one stopped by their table the stranger ordered a cup of coffee, "and leave the pot with us."_

 _Ed didn't argue but his eyebrows were drawn together out of confusion as to who the hell this stranger was. But before he could question it, the stranger was talking again._

" _Irsukya was a farming town until it became a transportation hub for Giribaz and Wiradu, since they don't have their own railroads," the man spoke with a strange cadance, like he was reading something aloud instead of speaking. "There hasn't been anything remarkable here- I mean a few years back there was a freak accident on the rails, a train car exploded. No one knew why." The man was looking at the table, his eyebrows screwed up like he was trying to figure out some kind of logic puzzle. There was a long pause where Ed refused to take his eyes off the man. Something was unsettling about him. Suddenly the man looked up and stared at Ed with his too big eyes full of confusion. "But there was no trace of alchemy so why are you here?"_

 _Sirens immediately went off in Ed's head and all his focus was on the stranger. "What?"_

 _Suddenly a coffee mug was placed in the space between them and the waiter filled it. He set the coffee pot down beside the mug. He turned to Ed and spoke, "your food will be out in a few minutes. The cook was on break, sorry about that." The waitress then left and Ed's focus was back on the stranger who had stopped looking so confused._

" _The coffee here is great, at least it should be. They get their coffee beans from Aerugo near the sea, or at least from a small city in the South Area that_ says _they get them from Aerugo. This place here, they buy them from the shop down the road and that's what the shop says. Is it true? Who knows. Do Aerugonian coffee beans taste better than those from Ermutixso? Maybe it's the danger that makes them better? I mean Amestris has cut off so many trade routes with other countries because of the war, the route to get coffee beans from Aerugo's coastal cities to Amestris' East Area could be very dangerous."_

" _Who are you?" Ed was astonished, if not very uncomfortable. The man's rambling threw him off, and a ball of anxiety formed in the pit of his stomach. The man looked at Ed with an intense stare that sent shivers down his spine._

 _Suddenly the man broke into a wide grin, and while on the surface it seemed full or pure joy, there was something off about it. "Meino Booker," he said with too much excitement, "and you're Edward Elric, The Fullmetal Alchemist, born eighteen ninety-nine in Resembool. Your younger brother, the suit of armor, Alphonse Elric, born at the turn of the century."_

 _All of the information Meino was spewing chilled Ed to the core. But the most jarring thing was the statement_ 'your younger brother, the suit of armor'. _The implication behind that statement made him lean away from the man and grip the edge of the table with his metal hand. "What the hell are you talking about?" Ed growled through a clenched jaw. He hoped that he had misheard, but he knew that he didn't._

 _The man cocked his head innocently as if he hadn't just revealed that he knew the Elric brothers biggest secret. "You. I'm talking about you. The youngest State Alchemist in history. Able to perform transmutations without a circle." Meino was leaning forward to counteract Ed moving away. He seemed manic, his large eyes bugging out more than they had before. He spoke like he was forcing himself to keep his volume down. "You're searching for something. I know what you're searching for." The man was smiling now, he was nearly bursting at the seams from sheer excitement. And that alone was unsettling. "You want a way to get your bodies back."_

 _The second those words left Meino's mouth, Ed launched himself in a blind rage. His right hand released from the edge of the table, leaving a dent, and connected with the side of Meino's face. In less than a second Ed was out of his chair and closed the distance between the two of them. Meino- who was now on the ground from the blow to the head- looked up at Ed with the same manic expression as before, blood seeping from a gash caused by Ed's automail. Ed lifted him up by the collar with his right hand, but not high enough for his feet to gain purchase on the ground._

 _Ed pulled so their faces were inches apart. He wanted to yell, to question, to berate, to attack. He found that he couldn't find the right words for any of it, he didn't know what to say. All that came out was a guttural sound that Ed wasn't even aware he was making._

 _Meino just laughed, the wide smile never faltering._

 _Suddenly Ed felt a hand on his shoulder and he spun, ready to attack. Molten lead was flowing through his veins and the built up rage had him coiled tight like a spring. But when he looked behind him he saw the waiter from before, his eyes were wide but not out of mania like Meino. Instead his eyes were wide with fear and apprehension._

" _I'm going to need you to leave."_

" _What?" Ed's head felt foggy, as if every interaction that wasn't with Meino was too slow. It felt like the lead in his veins was hardening. His grip on Meino's collar loosened just a bit._

" _Please leave, before I call the authorities." The waiter seemed unsure of himself and kept glancing back towards the kitchen area as if he was taking cues for what to say next. "Please, you've made a mess and we- I can't condone this violence."_

" _A mess?" Ed questioned and blinked slowly. He turned his head to look at the table, there was a visible series of dents that matched his automail fingers. And during the altercation he had apparently knocked over both the cup of coffee and the pot, both had shattered and spilled the dark liquid everywhere. Ed relinquished his hold on Meino and fully turned to the waiter. "No wait, I can fix it." He didn't realize he had said that until the words were out of his mouth. He felt like he was in a daze._

 _He turned to the mess, but not before glancing at Meino again. He could feel rage bubbling up under his skin. But Meino was not looking at him, instead he was staring at the shattered mug and his face was missing the manic smile from before. Instead he looked almost discouraged. Ed's gaze turned back to the spilt coffee, trying to figure out why Meino was staring. And that's when he saw it. A half dissolved white pill lay in a puddle. Ed didn't need to know what the pill was made of to know that it would've been disastrous if he had ingested it._

 _He looked back to Meino, he could feel the molten lead in his veins again. He balled his fists up and took a step so that he was nearly on top of Meino. But before he could do anything the waiter was talking- no yelling, there was roaring in his ears so he couldn't tell the difference- to him again._

" _Please! Sir! I need you to leave! Right now. I'll- I will call the police."_

 _Ed stopped again, he couldn't do this. He couldn't look at Meino's face. But he didn't want to leave him with all the information he knew. He glanced between the downed Meino and the flustered waiter. He stepped over Meino, stomping on his sternum with enough force to wind him as he went. He was too angry to eat right now anyway._

 _He exited the building swiftly, and he could hear the door open again behind him and he knew that Meino was following behind him. They weren't in the restaurant anymore so Ed could lay him out without fear of breaking a lot of property. He took a few more steps before about facing and freezing at what he saw._

 _Meino was there, holding his suitcase again. But in his other hand he was holding a gun, the manic look was still in his eyes and the smile was plastered on his face again. "I need you to come with me," his voice wavered and the gun shook in his hand._

 _Ed was frozen, he didn't like guns. But his look of shock quickly shifted to one of anger. "And why should I?" Ed realized that he probably shouldn't be antagonizing the man with a gun pointed at him, but he had trained with teacher long enough that he knew he could move fast enough to keep the bullet from hitting anything major._

" _I need you to come with me. You- you've committed the ultimate taboo. I need you. You've seen it. I need you." His mania seemed less cheerful. He seemed desperate now._

 _Ed could feel the same chill go up his spine. He hated that he knew exactly what Meino was talking about. "You know I've never been a fan of guns." He tried changing the subject. The waiter could see the gun in Meino's hand and Ed saw him calling someone out of the corner of his eye. He hoped it was the police._

" _I need you. She needs you." The gun was shaking even more in Meino's grip and all Ed could do was wonder what he meant by 'she'._

" _Who needs me?" Ed asked, a little cautiously. If he got Meino to put his guard down then maybe he could get somewhere safe._

" _Her. She needs you. She- she tried to bring her back. She tried to bring back Ishani and she- she lost her jaw and it drove her mad!" Despite the gun pointed at him Ed found it rather amusing that Meino of all people had called somebody else mad. "You need to save her! You know how!"_

 _Ed's head was reeling with information as he tried to piece the puzzle together. Meino was crying now and he could hear police coming in the distance. He reacted immediately, no longer needing to listen to the man's sob story. He clapped his hands together and touched the ground, blue alchemical light lit the dark street and Ed built a pillar from the surrounding dirt and pavement that was level enough with the roof of the restaurant. Ed jumped the gap, he could hear Meino fire a few rounds wildly in the air but he couldn't see him at this angle. He landed on the edge of the roof and his feet slipped from the tile, his hands scrambled for purchase but he quickly realized it was too late. He was fucked._

 _His fingers fully slipped from the roof and he plummeted back down the ground. He couldn't rotate his body to land on his feet and roll and instead landed, shoulder first, on a raised step leading into the restaurant. Ed could hear and audible snap come from collarbone as his metal shoulder connected with the hard pavement. But before he could feel any pain blossom from the obvious break his head had hit the ground and knocked him out cold._

"And then I woke up here, I guess he fled the scene before the police arrived." Ed attempted a shrug but winced when his shoulder moved. "Al was worried out of his mind, he'd be even more worried if he found out what happened."

"You're not gonna tell your brother?"

"I… can't. Not now at least. No one is supposed to know what happened to us, _especially_ not some creep we've never met. If Al finds out that Meino knows…" Ed trailed off with a wave of his left hand.

Roy hummed in acknowledgment. "I'm going to have some of my people look into him. See if they can figure out who he was talking about. I'll talk to you when we get this situation all sorted, but for now you're on ordered medical leave while I clean up your mess. You'll be coming back to East City with me and from there Second Lieutenant Havoc will be escorting you to Resembool."

"Escorting me?! I don't need an escort."

"Obviously you do, you've proven that you need someone to keep an eye on you."

"I can handle myself," Ed knew for a fact that in this state he definitely could not handle himself.

"Really? Because last time I checked you got your ass kicked by gravity." A smirk appeared on Roy's face as he said that.

Ed glared and mumbled a quick, "bastard."

"You're getting released this evening, make sure that you have everything you need. I'll be back to take you to the train station." Roy turned to leave but before he could take a step in the doors direction a distinct clanging came from down the hall. Al appeared in the doorway, somewhat surprised to see the Colonel. He had left to call Winry before Mustang had arrived.

"Hello Colonel," it sounded like he was smiling, even if couldn't physically do it. "Are you here to check up on Brother?"

"Yes, but I was actually just on my way out." Roy, however, did not make another move towards the door.

"Oh," Al said a little awkwardly. He stepped into the room and over towards the side of Ed's bed. "I told her that we'd be coming to get repairs done. She's… not happy about it."

Ed flinched at the thought of getting a wrench to the head like he did every time he upset Winry. "She'll be happy when she sees her paycheck," he grumbled to himself. As much as he complained about the cost of his automail and all the extra fees Winry and Pinako always tacked onto his bill, it didn't really put a dent into his State Alchemist funds and they didn't get a lot of business outside of Ed. Not many people wanted to travel to a small automail shop in the middle of nowhere.

"I also got to talk to the doctor a bit too, but he mostly said how it was hard to make any predictions on recovery time since your collarbone is directly connected to your automail. That made setting it really difficult."

A flash of worry and frustration appeared on Ed's face before he inhaled sharply through his nose and steeled his facial expression into that of a neutral one. "So he has no idea huh? I guess that just means it's up to me to decide when I feel good enough to get back out there."

"No," Al said immediately. He knew his brother, he'd push through the pain and return to searching with a still broken collarbone and get even more hurt in the process."You have to wait until it's fully healed. You can really hurt yourself this way brother." Al's voice sounded nearly pleading. "You have to wait until it's healed and strong again, you have to take care of yourself."

There was something in Al's voice that made Roy's stomach sink and it took a moment for Roy to realize why that was. Al didn't have a body to take care of, he didn't sleep or eat. He didn't have to worry about fatigue or pain, at least that was what Roy had gathered. And he was watching his brother, with a flesh and bone body, nearly kill himself on a regular basis by being reckless. It could seem like Ed took his body for granted, and Roy would assume that if he didn't know Edward well enough. Everything the boy did burned with the passion of trying to get his brother's body back, to him his body was just a vessel to restore his little brother. Missing limbs and bodily injury be damned.

It was noble, if not easily misconstrued by the boy's arrogance. And if the look on Ed's face was anything to go by he had been following the same train of thought. Suddenly Roy felt like he was eavesdropping on an intimate moment between two kids whose youth could so easily be forgotten, so he left without a word. He'd come back for Edward later to take him to the train station, but first he needed to find Ed's doctor.

"Doctor Dohman?" Roy said to the stout man making his way through the hall, it had taken a bit to find the name of the doctor treating Ed and where he was located. But as Ed's superior officer he was allowed access to this information.

"Yes? What can I do for you?" The man asked, he looked a bit flustered and overworked. He probably worked a lot of emergency situations, his constant movement meant he was always ready to jump into the heat of the moment to help save patients. He had met many field medics during the Ishvalan Civil War that acted the same way.

"I believe my subordinate, Edward Elric, is in your care?"

"Your subordinate? Oh, but that boy is barely thirteen. Is he in the academy?" The doctor was taking Roy's military uniform into consideration.

"No, he's a soldier under my command." Roy didn't have the luxury of looking bashful at the fact he was the commanding officer of someone who hadn't even hit puberty yet. "I've overheard that it's hard to determine how long his fracture would take to heal because of his automail, it that correct?"

The doctor hesitated for a second, clearly uncomfortable with the revelation, "...yes, exactly. See, when a bone fractures, blood pools into a sort of glob that surrounds the broken ends of that fracture. The clotted blood has proteins that guide bone cells to regrow and reconnect. Eventually it forms a solid mass between and around the fracture, making it even stronger than before." He spoke like he was used to explaining what broken bones were and how they healed, and considering his profession it was very likely. "But the break happened just before the automail starts and we're unsure if the proteins will form the scaffolding that the bone cells need, or if the bone cells will start to grow from both sides. We can't say what will happen and we can't make any educated guesses because we don't know if the automail was built on the bone or replaced it or if there is an adequate blood supply coming from the other side. Not to mention it's a very hard place to keep stable with how heavy his automail is." Roy considered the doctor's use of 'we', implying he had consulted at least another physician on the matter.

Roy nodded his head like he completely understood what he was being told, he did to an extent but his mind didn't like wrapping its head around medical terms. "How long do normal fractures take to heal?"

The doctor paused, he had been so caught up in his own thoughts about Edward's case that he had forgot he was having a conversation with a military officer. "Oh well, anywhere from four to eight weeks depending on the specific situation and person, but most are healed at the six week mark."

Roy nodded to himself, he wouldn't let Ed return until at least six weeks had gone by. He'd have to make a stop by Resembool to check up on him before he could clear him to return to work. "Is there a chance it might not heal?"

The doctor almost seemed hesitant to answer. "Yes, and the chance is high."

"And what are his options then?"

"Well, nonunions aren't uncommon. Just usually not at the collarbone or for this particular reason. It'd never be something I've done before so it'd be very touch and go… but I'd start with trying to increase stability with screws and if that doesn't work the next step would be bone grafts. But... that is a difficult process."

"He's been through worse."

"I can see that. Potentially we could just take the collarbone out and he could get it replaced with automail, but that would be a discussion for him and his mechanic. He has a lot to discuss with his mechanic actually."

Roy hummed in acknowledgement. He was thinking, he knew that if Ed had heard any of this then it would do him no good. He wouldn't give himself time to heal, instead he'd just push himself to find a solution his way. Which, when it came to the human body, was not a territory Roy wanted Ed to enter again. "Do not tell him that there is a chance it won't heal."

"What?" The doctor couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You want me to withhold information from a patient."

"Yes, exactly. As his superior officer I have determined that he has no beneficial reason in knowing that it might not heal."

"I… I don't know if I could do that. He deserves to know his options."

"He's reckless."

"Okay, but it's still _his_ body."

"He's barely thirteen, according to Amestrian law he cannot assume control over his person's, actions, or decisions until he has reached the age of sixteen."

"He has to be an exception, he's in the military. That has to give him some autonomy."

"He is a special case, but as his commanding officer I am the closest thing he has to a guardian and as such I invoke the right to keep this information from him." He spoke with finality. Edward's case certainly was special and no one exactly knew what to do as he fell below the age of majority yet held the rank of major. Technically he was an independent adult who had custody of Alphonse, whose lack of military rank deemed him a minor, and thus had full autonomy under his commanding officer. But that's where the line blurred, many people were used to the commanding officers in the Military Academy assuming temporary guardianship over the students. And Roy used that confusion to his advantage. He didn't usually control what information Ed received, the kid was usually smart enough to take it. But sometimes the kid's reckless behavior was too much to handle and Roy felt like he had to keep some things from him just to protect him.

The Military Academy was a staple in Amestris, after kids left public education their options were few and far between. They could join the Military Academy which, if they complete their education there, could land them with the rank of Corporal upon enlistment. For many kids it was their only option since apprenticeships were hard to find and higher education was very expensive. The farther from Central, the less kids joined the Academy since it was far from home and many kids would work in a family business or farm after leaving the education system.

The doctor didn't seem happy about having to keep this from his patient, but he sighed. There wasn't anything he could do. He pinched the bridge of his nose, his calm demeanor from before was gone but his flustered appearance was still there. "Alright. Now, I've had a long day uh," he glanced at Roy's epaulette, seeing three stars on blue and recognizing the rank. Every citizen of Amestris could recognize military rank, "Colonel, and I still have five hours on my shift. I have a few patients to tend to outside of Mr. Elric and I'd like to get to them now. If you have any more questions or concerns please direct them to the nurses on standby." His tone was stiff and controlled. It was the same tone he used when he had to give serious news, he wasn't here to deal with emotions. He remained detached from the situation, there was nothing he could do and he couldn't let himself get upset over it. He's told people they had a few months to live, he could handle the thought of keeping information from a kid. Even if he didn't want to.

Roy nodded and the doctor disappeared down the hallway. He stopped by the nurses station and asked for a cup of coffee, they didn't question it as they were used to friends and family of patients asking for something to keep them up. Roy accepted the coffee in a thick paper cup that didn't insulate heat as much as he'd like, but the slight burn he felt on the tips of his fingers was nothing compared to the headache he could feel forming.

Roy had made it somewhat of a personal mission to keep the kids safe- or at the very least _alive_ \- while giving them a chance to get their bodies back. Originally he had just been trying to recruit for his team that would help him change this country for the better, but when he saw the look of that young man- no _child_ , Ed had been only eleven when Roy first met him- miserable and practically dead to the world. But the fire in his eyes when Roy explained the opportunities the military could offer him had given Roy a damn near philanthropic passion to make sure that these kids turned out okay.

He made himself seem selfish, like he was only doing this for himself. He had only recruited this kid because he was a powerful alchemist and young enough to be molded. He had worked himself up the ranks by stepping on the backs of others. He wanted to reach the top so that the country was _his_. But the truth was he had recruited Edward because he wanted to give him the fighting chance he wouldn't have sitting around feeling sorry for himself. He had worked himself up the ranks by a system of giving and taking, he had always made sure the people he associated himself with knew that he was in it for the benefit of everyone. And he wanted to reach the top not to take complete control of the country, but to give the country back to the people and to make it a place that they would be proud to call home.

He wanted to help people, he just made it seem like he only wanted to help himself because apathy could be seen as a sign of strength whilst empathy a sign of weakness. But if Roy knew anything, it was that the reverse was often true. Still, it was a pain to care. But it was pain he was willing to deal with.

He sipped the black coffee and sighed, it wasn't good. It was weak and definitely wasn't fresh. But it was still warm and was enough for now. He went to one of the pay phones and called into his office in Eastern Command. It took a few rings before Riza picked up.

"This is the office of Colonel Mustang," Riza spoke up through the phone's speaker in a professional tone. Roy found himself smirking at her voice, it was nice to hear after all the news he had received.

"How formal Lieutenant," his tone was smooth, betraying how exhausted he felt.

"Sir? How are the Elric brothers?"

"They're mostly fine. Ed is… he'll be taking a leave of absence for the next few weeks to heal up and get his automail fixed. He has a concussion, a broken collarbone, and severely damaged his automail."

"That does not sound like it's fine, sir."

"No it's not, because there's more. I need you to send someone to do research on an Meino Booker; brown hair, blue eyes."

"What's going on?"

"He knows."

There was a pregnant pause on the line as Riza processed the information. She knew what Roy meant, but she wanted clarification. "About the Elrics?"

"Yes. He knows, a lot, and we need to find him before anyone else. He's unstable and if he reveals what he knows…" Roy didn't finish. They both knew what that'd mean.

"Yes sir, I'll have Warrant Officer Falman look into him," she paused, "when does your train leave?"

There was a pause where Roy searched for the ticket. "Not until tomorrow," he mumbled, seemingly annoyed by it. He had forgotten how long he'd have to wait to get back to East City. "Fullmetal gets released later today and we should get back before noon tomorrow. Have Havoc ready to escort the Elric brothers to Resembool."

"He won't be too happy about that, sir. Spending all day going back and forth by train."

"Consider it a punishment for leaving a cigarette burn in the carpet. The entire office smells like smoke all the time because of him and it gives me a headache. Maybe we could get some fresh air for once if we keep the windows wide open."

He couldn't see it, but Roy knew Riza was giving a nearly unnoticeable smirk. "I'll be sure to inform him sir."

"Also have a car ready to pick me up."

"Of course sir."

Roy ended the call with a quick farewell and hung up. By now his coffee was starting to go cold so he downed it all in one go. He crushed the cup in his hand and threw it out. He left the hospital in quick, determined strides to look for a place to get something to eat. It wasn't long until he came upon the site of the attack, a small restaurant with a large pillar wrought with traces of alchemy in front of it. It was obviously closed for the day and Roy moved on without much of a second thought. The local police would've take anything of value that had been at or around the crime scene and by now Meino could've easily been halfway to Briggs. A bit of hyperbole, but not too far off if he had taken the first train out of town.

Roy would have to deal with this at a time when he wasn't hungry, tired, and stuck in Irsukya. For now he could deal with one thing at a time, and that one thing would be getting Fullmetal to Resembool to heal. Falman could easily handle the research assignment and Havoc could, more than others, deal with the Elric brothers on an extended voyage.

Later, the Elric brothers sat listening reluctantly as a nurse explained to Ed the inner workings of a figure eight brace. He'd need to remove his automail when he got to his mechanic to relieve the weight pulling on his arm, but without his automail the sling was useless and a figure eight brace would be needed to stabilize his shoulder. Ed didn't listen as well as he probably should have, but he knew Al was listening and would berate him for getting it wrong if he did. He couldn't even put the brace on by himself so it wasn't like he needed to know how to work it.

"And one more thing," the nurse said, Ed didn't remember her name nor did he care to try to remember, "the doctor has written a prescription for you, to help with the pain that'll come with your collarbone." Ed could already feel the pain in his collarbone and when he moved too much he could feel the bones rubbing against each other. It was annoying and painful. "Thirty milligram morphine sulphate tablets. Be careful with these, only take them when you need to and keep it at one at a time." The small glass bottle sat on a try with small, round white tablets in them. Ed pulled a face of disgust at them but didn't say anything, he knew that there were only two other options for pain management; serum or intravenous. He would take the pill over either. "You want to take one tablet with a glass of water. It's better to take it on a full stomach." She picked the bottle up and held it out to Ed, Ed took it reluctantly and turned the bottle around in his one hand to get a look at the pills on the side with no label. "If you need a refill just show a pharmacy this note and some identification and they can accommodate you to the best of their ability. I'm sure the military should have a ready supply." Her words weren't harsh, but it was obvious she had heard that Ed was the infamous child soldier and wasn't too fond of the situation.

Ed hadn't looked up from the pills, instead he thought of what made them: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur to help create the pill. All extremely common and simple elements, but they were combined in such a specific way as to disrupt the brain's natural response to pain. They probably got opium from the poppy fields in West Area. East Area had a few, but with the Ishvalan Civil War and the large amount of livestock there weren't any near Resembool. Farmers wouldn't want sheep eating their flowers.

Ed left his thoughts and pocketed the small, glass bottle. "So are we done here? I'm released right, good to go?"

The nurse sighed, "Yes, Mr. Elric, you'll be able to leave-"

Ed didn't wait for her to finish before he hopped off the bed and landed on his feet. He winced as the movement jostled his collarbone, practically any movement jostled it considering it was so central to his anatomy. Before he could leave, the nurse put her hand out to stop him.

"-after you fill out some paperwork."


End file.
